Zane walked to the exit and waited with the previous testers. Hours passed, and more and more testers filled the room. Finally, Director Keldithas teleported in front of the group, his handsome face as cold and aloof as ever. "I have three rules that you must follow. First, no killing of other members of the North America Division. If your differences have reached the point of being irreconcilable, you can demand a life-or-death battle, and a decision will be made after review."
"Not killing members of the North America Division? What about the other divisions?" Zane immediately caught the subtleties of these words.
"Second, no killing of ordinary humans is allowed, unless your life is threatened or it's an act of revenge. However, beware that for cases of the latter, the Dimension Tower will investigate the situation.
"Under that same rule, experimentation on ordinary earthlings is also forbidden. Necromancers also cannot forcefully kill ordinary humans for their souls or bodies. A monetary contract of exchange is permitted, but the reward can be recovered only after the contractor's death."
"A bit macabre," Zane thought, but the nature of Necromancers seems to be as such.
"Third rule," Keldithas continued. "All free knowledge granted to you by the Dimension Tower cannot be passed down to another individual. Knowledge bought or developed of your own volition is of a different nature.
"Finally, let me remind you that failure to comply with any of these three rules will result in your execution. Do you understand?… Well, do you?"
"We understand."
"Good. I will see you in two weeks for your second dimension shift."
Before Zane could react, the world swirled around him, and when he regained consciousness, he realized he was back in his room. "Hmm? Why does everything look exactly as I left it?" A glance at the window revealed it was still dark. A quick check at his laptop revealed it had only been a few minutes since he disappeared. "Time dilation? I know magic exists, and I shouldn't be surprised, but it's truly a marvel what the Dimension Tower can do," Zane sighed.
Despite having slept in the other dimension. Zane felt tired, so he hopped into the shower, changed his clothes, plugged in his phone, and then lay on his bed. The events of the past 24 hours played like a movie in his mind, and he analyzed everything. Unable to sleep, Zane sat up and reached out for his computer. The world is about to change drastically with the appearance of mages and knights with extraordinary powers.
If these extraordinary beings possess even a fraction of the demons' power, all aspects of society — including the military, culture, and geopolitics — will be radically transformed. A new world order was about to descend on this planet, and Zane wanted to take full advantage of the situation.
Just as Zane was about to tap a few keys, he received a breaking news notification and clicked on it. His mouth was agape, and he swiftly rushed out of his house. It was there: an immense tower that reached to the sky, deep into the clouds, and maybe beyond. "The Dimension Tower," he muttered.
The changes in the world were inevitable, but he never expected them to come so soon. After sighing to himself, Zane returned to his bed and continued watching the news. The young female reporter was discussing Grand Archmage Drakken's speech, which was broadcast worldwide. Only the last few seconds of the speech addressing the trainees were cut off, but everything else — including the display of demons against the Lumen people — was included.
Zane exhaled deeply. He opened his phone and called his mother, sister, family, and friends. For the next hour, he discussed the tower with many people, but he never revealed that he was one of the trainees. The danger involved was already evident, and the last thing he needed was to add more stress to his family's life. More importantly, Zane needed to wait and see the United States — and the world's —reaction to the extraordinary beings.
"The most likely reaction will be control, whether through the use of wealth and power," Zane analyzed. "But there is also a chance that they use eradication and experimentation. Before I have the strength to protect myself, it's best if I don't reveal the truth and stay low."
With an active mind, sleep was as elusive as a slippery rabbit. For most of the night, Zane could not help but analyze and deduce the future state of the world in light of this sudden turn in the course of human history. Although he did not know whether his predictions would come true, it was still an excellent way to prepare.
"Regardless of what happens, today's event is an opportunity to change my life," Zane thought as the Goddess of Sleep finally lured him into her bountiful embrace.
Dimension Tower, Meeting Room:
Drakken sat at a rectangular table, staring at a projection screen and scrolling through data. "Is everybody here?"
"No, Guthier—"
"Sorry, I'm late," Guthier, the Central America Director, said.
"Send in your report," Drakken said without looking back.
Nua, who sat closest to him, received a notification on the magic pad and swiftly organized it with the rest. "Firstly, there are three Seers discovered."
"That's good news," Drakken nodded. "They must see blood, but their safety is of higher priority than the others."
"Understood," Nua nodded. "Of the 10 million selected, more than 15% had no talent whatsoever."
"Why is the number so high? Didn't you use the Fate Orb to ensure only talented earthlings are chosen?"
"We currently only have a 4th-tier Fate Orb," Nua explained.
"Headquarters is really cheap."
"Continue," Drakken said.
"The fatality was 105,675," Nua stated. "A total of 26,987 individuals received a lower white title, 2098 of them received a high white title, 543 received a white-blue title, and 22 received a light blue title."
"While the other statistics are above average, the number of light blue titles is quite high," commented Mordal, the dwarven director of the Pacific Island Region.
"Yes, but no blue or dark blue title," Sarifika, the Western Europe Director, commented.
"Blue titles only appear in the first shift in civilization with a preliminary extraordinary system, and dark blue has only appeared twice, both of which were anomalies. Not to mention both these worlds failed in the end, so what's the point of bringing them up?" Dhazhan, an orc and Director of the Middle-East Region, commented.
"I'm just saying," Sarifika shrugged her shoulders.
"What do you want to do with these people?" Nua asked.
"Raise their evaluation, and put the people with a light blue title on a High Observation List," Drakken ordered. Nua nodded as she controlled the magic pad, following the instructions.
"Anything else?"
"We are utilizing way more energy than necessary during the teleportation process because of these earthlings' technology. Do you want to ban them from bringing non-magical related items for the next shift?"
"Keep it this way for the next two shifts," Drakken responded.
"As you wish," Nua nodded. "That's it for now. I'm about to send the introductory package to the mages. Do you want to add anything?"
"No, it's fine the way it is," Drakken iterated as he finally removed his eyes from his screen. He gazed at his team: "Do you have anything to add?"
"I'm still of the opinion we should follow an orthodox training path," Keldithas said. "We should test their talents and put these mages through proper schooling — not raise a bunch of wild and uneducated War Mages."
"Who are you calling wild?"Hess, a dragonkin wearing a blue mage and Director of Eastern Europe, scoffed. However, Keldithas didn't even look at her.
"While I understand your view, there is a reason for this," Drakken intervened to prevent any further argument. "We are working with limited resources, and more importantly, this approach is the fastest way to find the talented ones and train them in a way that preserves their creativity and ingenuity." While formal schooling was a requirement for all mages, it could easily turn them into rigid thinkers, and this was the last thing Drakken wanted.
"As long as they are alive, knowledge can be acquired and supplemented," Guthier commented, approving of this means of training. Although he failed to see the "creativity and ingenuity" of these earthlings, as Lord Drakken proclaimed, he also understood there is a reason he is only a support staff member and Lord Drakken is a core member.
"I'm only stating my opinion. The final decision still lies with you," Keldithas said in his usual cold voice.
"Anything else?"
"Many governments have released public statements that they wish to contact us. Should we initiate first contact?"
"No," Drakken replied. "This Earth's humans are too divided. We won't deal directly with their governments this time."
"Should we at least create a fund for the disease?" a black human mage with slightly pointy ears — an indication of being a half-elf — asked. As the director of West Africa, he oversaw a region among the poorest and most corrupt. So, it was acceptable for him to bypass the government, but he worried about the transcendents under his control.
"We are already short of resources as it is," someone coldly replied. In the endless dimensions, life is both the most valuable and the most worthless thing.
"It won't take many resources," Amatu, the half-elf mage, continued. "Money is just data in this world, which we can easily manipulate." With the tower's power, they can manipulate things to become billionaires in a matter of hours.
"While that's true, you could easily cause global economic collapse."
"Not to mention in more chaotic regions of the world, having a large sum of money is not necessarily a good thing for some people."
"All of this is easily handled if we put to use the eliminated candidates," Amatu insisted. "Although they don't have the talent for an extraordinary path, these people still have a Soul Crest. We can put them to use."
No one objected this time, and the moment passed as they analyzed the plan's feasibility.
"It might work," Amari, the Director of Southeast Asia, added. She wore silver armor with a black sword hanging at her waist.
"A more peaceful approach might be more suited for this dimension's development," another director added. Soon, the majority agreed, with only a few who insisted that a more ruthless training session would be ideal. Some extremists even suggested the complete collapse of Earth's society and civilization; then the tower could rebuild anew while choosing its trainees.
"Fine," Lord Drakken finally spoke, and the decision was made. "Amatu, since this is your idea, you'll be in charge of the process."
"I won't let you down."
"Alright, who else has a report?" As silence reigned over the room for a few seconds, and since no one had anything to report or suggest, Drakken continued the meeting. " Let's move on to the next topic: the next shift. What are your suggestions?"